1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a program, and an information processing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various services for distributing content data representing content such as video and audio to a different device using the network have appeared with widespread use of the network such as Internet. The services include stream distribution service in which a server distributes the content data to a computer such as PC (Personal Computer), and digital signage in which the content corresponding to time and place are displayed on a display device installed in a public facility and the like.
A technique related to the transmission of the content data from an information processing apparatus (so-called server) to an external device (so-called client device) is being developed. The technique of preventing congestion of the network and realizing smooth distribution of the content data is, for example described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-202927. A technique of increasing the speed of display of the information to the user terminal by passing the information through a separate computer server when providing the information from an information providing server to the user terminal is, for example, described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-161657.